Prior art bottle aerators which aerate the liquid in the bottle are known, for example:
US 2010/0058933 published Mar. 11, 2010;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,595,104, issued Jan. 21, 1997, and
U.S. Pat. No. 4,494,452, issued Jan. 22, 1985.
Prior art bottle aerators which aerate the liquid as it is poured from the bottle are also known, for example:
U.S. Pat. No. 8,011,540, issued Sep. 6, 2011;
US 2011/0024925, published Feb. 3, 2011;
US 2010/0091605, published Apr. 15, 2010;
US 2010/0025867, published Feb. 4, 2010;
US 2010/0006603, published Jan. 14, 2010, and
U.S. Pat. No. 6,568,660, issued May 27, 2003.
The VinOAir from Cork Pops Inc. also aerates as the liquid is poured from the bottle, and more information can be found at http://www.vinoair.com.
Prior art aerators which aerate the liquid after it is poured out of the bottle are also known, for example:
US 2011/0042835, published Feb. 24, 2011;
U.S. Pat. No. 7,841,584, issued Nov. 30, 2010;
U.S. Pat. No. 7,614,614, issued Nov. 10, 2009;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,713,263, issued Feb. 3, 1998, and
U.S. Pat. No. 4,162,129, issued Jul. 24, 1979.
The Vin-Aire from Prime Wine Products LLC also aerates after the liquid is poured from the bottle, and more information can be found at http://www.vin-aire.com.
None of these prior art bottle aerators aerate the liquid inside the bottle, as the liquid is poured from the bottle. An advantage of aerating the liquid inside the bottle, as the liquid is poured from the bottle, is that it allows the spout to be longer, but with less protruding above the top of the bottle.
The entire contents of each of the patents, patent publications and websites discussed herein is hereby incorporated by reference.
Applicant has also found that the prior art designs do not optimize the aeration with the rate at which the liquid pours from the bottle.